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Understanding the effect of electrolyte on the cycle and structure stability of high areal capacity Si-Al film electrode

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Abstract

High areal capacity silicon-based films are attracting much attention in high energy density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the enormous volume change of Si, causing film crack and instability of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, leads to a rapid capacity decay. In this work, the structure evolution and electrochemical performance of Si-Al film (~ 2.5 mAh cm-2) are systematically investigated by galvanostatic discharge/charge test, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Particularly, the inner structure is carefully analyzed by the cross-sectional images. In the EC-based and FEC-added electrolytes, the columnar structure is remained. Interestingly, the rigid SEI layer formed in FEC-based electrolyte restrains the surface tensile stress, and the Si-Al film is cracked from the inner part and further rearranged towards compact piling up during cycling. The new formed film displays a weak volume expansion and an improved capacity retention of 85.0% after 100 cycles.

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Funding

This work was sponsored by Shanghai Sailing Program (17YF1413500).

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  1. Jie Zhang

    Present address: Shanghai Shanshan Tech. Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201209, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Shanshan Tech. Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201209, China

    Ping Liu & Yongmin Qiao

  2. Shanghai Institute of Space Power-Sources, Shanghai, 200245, China

    Chuanjie Shen

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Zhang, J., Shen, C., Liu, P. et al. Understanding the effect of electrolyte on the cycle and structure stability of high areal capacity Si-Al film electrode. Ionics 25, 483–492 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-018-2816-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-018-2816-8

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